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6 Bizarre Things You Didn't Know About Your Brain

The brain is the most fascinating part of the body. Since the days of the Ancient Greeks, we've known that it's the powerhouse of the body where all the thinking, feeling and managing goes on. But there's still a lot we don't know about the brain, and this is why scientists continue to study it closely. Here are 6 things that YOU probably never knew about your own grey matter.

The Eyes Have It!

All of your senses send their signals to the brain when detect something; all except the eyes. They have a direct line to your brain through optical nerve fibers. That means that your eyeballs are connected directly to the frontal lobe of your brain.

My Brain Hurts

Sure, sometimes it feels like your brain hurts. But actually, the brain is the only part of the body with no pain receptors whatsoever. So, literally speaking, your brain feels no pain.

The Body's Autobahn

Nerve impulses shoot to and from the brain at a whopping 170 miles an hour. That's much faster than a cheetah can run, and it's almost as fast as the Japanese bullet trains when they're at high speed. Your nerve impulses can go from Tokyo to Osaka in under 5 hours!

Oxygen Hog

Your brain makes up less than 2% of your body weight, but it uses 20% of the oxygen you take in! It also uses about 20% of the calories you take in through your diet. That's one pretty needy organ!

The Brain Needs Blood

Speaking of your brain hogging this and that, consider this - each minute about 750 to 1,000 milliliters of blood flow through your brain. That's 3 regular-sized soda cans worth! Depending on your body size, that's 1/4th to 1/6th of all the blood in your body.

This Is Gross But...

What do you imagine your brain looking like? You probably picture a thick, hamburger-like mass of grey matter. Actually, it's much gooier than that. It's a squishy, goopy stew of water and blood with tissue floating in it. The brain is about 20% water and one thing most people don't know is that a glass of water does much more for its thinking ability than any caffeinated or sugar-filled beverage.

The brain is definitely an oddity among the organs of the human body. It also does more than any of those organs and is more vital to your life. Consider that it handles not only thinking and processing information, but also all of your body's involuntary functions like breathing and blood circulation. Be nice to your brain; it does a lot for you!

Want To Learn More?

We recommend investing in this guide to human physiology and
anatomy. It will help you learn anatomy, including the brain, very efficiently and quicly!. Plus it's a fantastic reference for the entire human body with an extensive
section on the brain.